Tire chain applier



26, 1952 H. w. JOHNSON v TIRE CHAIN APPLIER Filed Aug. 5, 1950 INVENTOR. HOWARD MJoHusou BY ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 26, 1952 g rn'tironam APPHER v Johnson, Port=Washington,=-N-.-: Application-Au ust 1950; serial-N0. 1773839- helm-me (o1. isz -zin This-invention: is a evice' for automati ally applying antiski'dchains to the whees ofvehi cles: lfts object is to* provide with thispurposewhich is sf" which will'applya chain I and which will leavethe chain free to creep-* on the the when; in-us'e.

In the accompanying srawi-aggwhioliillds'trates one'embodimentpf my invention I Fig. 1 is-a" sid'e view partial-1y iii-section show-'- ing; the" initial stage- ,cl'i'air'r; I I

Fig; 2 l5 a SimilarView showiflg thg-wfih h i. stage'irr" the application of 'the cha Fig; 3 is a semi aagramnaeeview of the'coni'-- plete equipment for one'whe'ei vrewes rromabove;-

Fig: 4* is a= sectionatyiewniiowing the mechanisnr of the" chain fastener'and draw-eable" re lease; v I g Fig. 5 is'a sideview of the same; showing-position after theVdravWcablehasbeenmelasedf and Fig. 6' 13a" transverse" section of the frame of the chain fasteneiz,

As indicated in Fig. 1, the tire chain is normally carried-in a flat box-shaped supportlfl which may be mounted on the underside of 'the running board] i of a car; adiacent-thewheel l2 to which the chain is to be applied-here assumed to be a rear .wheel. The rearen'd .oithe support? ingboxfgi's open to permitthe chain to betdrawn out. The other end-of the box-"is';closedi'except for'two'openin'gs" t3; ththroug'hwhich pass the draw cables hereinafter referred to. The support box is removably secured in place by bolts or clamps of any suitable known type. The chain is normally disposed on the support in orderly but compact array with the chain fasteners I4,

' l4 nearest to the wheel and the links at the other end of the chain placed at the other end Of the support, as indicated in Fig. l. A leaf spring l5 within the box is arranged to bear against the chain to somewhat retard its exit and prevent its being jerked from the support in a disorderly condition.

Flexible cables material are used to draw the chains from the support and against the wheel when the chains are to be applied, and, as the wheel turns, to bring the chain fasteners into exact register with the opening of the terminal link of the chain with which it is to be connected. For this purpose each cable is secured at one end to a source of power, here indicated for illustration as a helical spring I8, and after passing around pulleys l9 and 20 to bring it into line with the wheel mple and inexpensive: ofconventional type the ap lies tiers of" the' l6, l6 of wire or other suitable and chain; it passes thr'ouglian opening in thf supportbox: Theredt is" threadedtlirougli the terminal link of one" of the side strands of i the chain and thencepassesbacli andfaroundf a as shown-merge; i-amai grooved-cablegu-fde'?I and then passes forward again'to the-chain'fasl=" tener Ht towhich it is releasably attached. A'I-j though not essential, it is advantageous tohaye" co'rrceritri'c'i as this 'serves better toholdthe chairrcontinuouslyagainst' the'tire the cable-guides 2! approximatelywith the axis of the wheel.

while it is being applied: The i-rmer' guideiscmF veniently mounted on the'axle housmgyyasjhdi cated; the outer-one may bec'arri'ed on afzs'up port 2'3" attached to any convenient part 24" of thecar 'body; In each instance thecablepasses to the guide on the upp-ersi'de andreturnson" the lower side of the guide? In this way'as'rthe chain is wrapped. around the" wheelifron'lif the" lower side the cable is carried? around and freed.

from the guide" prep'aratory to' its final f rel-ease"; A" slidable' pin '26 passes tfiroughlthe" support box just" to" the rear oftherearr'riost 'cr'os's ichainf' as'it lies in the box andso normally revents-t 1 spring and the cables from pulling the chain" of the -"support. A"

known to the art may be used to withdrawf the pinifi'when it isdesire'd to" apply thecl'i'ains;

The chain fasteners" 14-; which" mutilated-er. one end-0f thechain in'the" usual'm'anner," are of 1 a generally fiat tapered shape adapted to" be" drawn into the terminal links 28 on the other end of the chain. The fastener bodies may be formed from sheet metal by bending, as indicated in Fig. 6, to provide spaced side walls for supporting the internal mechanism. Each fastener has a slot 30 about midway of its length into which the terminal link drops when it reaches that point. This slot is normally closed by a'spring pressed detent 3| which yields readily to permit the terminal link to enter the slot but prevents it from passing out again until the detent is forced back by hand in the process of removing the chain. The large end of the fastener is provided with an opening 29 in which the side strand of the chain is attached.

A connector 32 is attached to the end of each cable It and is provided with a shouldered extention 33 adapted to be inserted between the sidewalls of the fastener so that the shoulder will hook over the cross pin 34 0f the fastener and will occupy the lower end of the slot 50 as shown in Fig. 4. It is held in this position by the spring 35 until the terminal link 28, dropping into the lever ZTun'der co-ntrolofjtlfie operator, or other convenient mechanicallmeans j I V 3 slot, forces the shoulder down below the pin 34, whereupon the pull of the power spring I8 withdraws the connector from the fastener and back into the support box. The outer or head end of the connector forms an extension of the tapered body of the fastener and is itself tapered to facilitate the threading on of the terminal link.

With the chain packed in the support box, the retaining pin 26 in place and the cables connected as above described, the chain may be applied to the wheel by merely withdrawing the pin 25 and driving the car forward for approximately one revolution of the wheels. Withdrawal of the pin 26 permits the draw cables to pull the chain out of the support until the first cross-chain is pressed firmly against the tire as shown in Fig. 1. As the car is then driven forward the friction of the tire will cooperate with the spring [8 to continue the withdrawal of the chain, causing it to be wrapped around the tire in proper working position until it reaches the position shown in Fig. 2. During this movement the terminal links 28 of the chain which are threaded on the cables slide along it until they reach the chain fasteners, and, riding along the tapered bodies thereof, drop into the slots 30 and are locked therein by the detents 3|. The links 28, upon reaching the bottom of the slots release the connectors 32 as above described and these are then pulled back into the support box by the power spring l8 and lodge against its end wall at the openings I3. The chain is then fully applied and ready for use.

While I have shown the mechanism applicable to only one side of the car, it will be readily understood that the same mechanism is equally applicable to the other side and that the same spring l8 or other source of power may be used to activate both sides.

It will also be understood that many of the details ofconstruction herein shown by way of illustrating the invention, may be varied considerably without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for applying antiskid chains to vehicle wheels, comprising a support for holding the chain adjacent the wheel, a source of power, a pair of draw-cables, and a pair of cable guides 4 in a position to guide the cables from the chain support to the far side of the wheel axis and back, each draw-cable being connected at one end to a chain fastener located at one end of the chain and passing thence around one of said guides, thence through a terminal link on the other end of the chain, and having its other end connected to said source of power, and means for disconnecting the cable from the chain fastener when the chain has been applied to the wheel.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the source of power is a spring under tension, and means under control of the operator for retaining the chain on the support against the tension of the spring.

3. A device in accordance with claim 1 having a drag attached to the support and bearing against the chain to' control its movement from the support.

4. In a device of the kind described, a fastener for tire chains containing a latch for catching and holding the ends of the chain together, a connector for use in drawing theends oi the chain together, and mechanism within the fastener for releasably holding the fastener and connector together, said mechanism becoming automatically ineffective when the two ends of the chain are in connected position.

5. A tire chain applier for applying to a vehicle a tire chain having fasteners on one end thereof and conventional links on the other end thereof comprising a pair of draw-cables threaded through the conventional links of the chain and having on one end of each cable a connector releasably attached to a fastener on the opposite end of the chain.

6. A mechanism according to claim 5 in which the cable, between its points of contact with the conventional link and the fastener, is looped around the axis of said vehicle wheel at-the start of the applying operation.

HOWARD W. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS 

